The real bunga

My parents house is all geared up for the first day of Hari Raya and at this time of the year, there is no shortage of flowers in the house!

Shortsighted!

Bunga Api - literally flowers of fire

The new moon for Eid has been sighted all over the world - the Middle East and Europe celebrated today and South East Asia tomorrow. We in Brunei missed the new moon this evening so we fast again tomorrow and start our celebrations on Thursday. Hmmmm.....the kids (and Donncha!) were a bit confused as to why Hari Raya is not for another day. Nevermind I'm not going to get technical so Thursday it is.

I forgot to mention earlier that Rizal and Nurul are here to celebrate the first couple of days with us - well that was the plan but now they will only be with us for the first day before leaving Thursday evening. I will post pictures soon.

Today I stocked up on fireworks for fun with the kids over Hari Raya. I went a bit mad but hey if we were in the UK what I spent would buy me a couple of boxes of cheap range Christmas crackers in Harrods....saying that I feel much better about it already. 

To all our friends and family outside Brunei (rest of world) all the McCarthys wish you 

Eid Mubarak

&

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri

Maaf Zahir & Batin

Le Weekend!

It's here at last! I wish our weekend will be filled with R&R but with Hari Raya just a few days away I know there won't be much of that. At least with no school, bedtimes are more relaxed and the kids get their fill of channel 613! 

Cookies and a Surprise!

Iman made these wonderful cookies at cookery today. Just as well I took this picture in the school carpark as there wasn't much left by the time we got home!

And when we got home Iman was greeted with a surprise. Donncha was sent a Hari Raya hamper thanks to all the travel he does. It's a first for the McCarthy family and the kids were all suitably impressed!

Firestarters !

With Hari Raya (End of Ramadhan) only one week away, the early evening peace is frequently broken by the rattle and bangs of crackers and fireworks. Our kids are guilty of this, especially Jack and Ayden who are displaying a severe addiction to bunga api. Their main supplier is the big kid Amin who is only too eager to indulge in his favorite festive activity. It has taken Donncha sevaral years to come round to the idea of having fireworks readily available and in your back garden but even he is starting to enjoy it and has been frequenting firework stalls regularly... for the children of course!

Jack is no stranger to pop pop showing Ayden how to make maximum noise!

What shall we play next? I'm thinking bedtime kids!

Countdown begins !

Just under two weeks to go before we return to normal life with the end of Ramadhan and the preparations are beginning to kick into full gear. All the Baju (clothes) will have been made some time ago (as you have two chances of getting anything done this late) but it's the cooking that is beginning to get into high gear. Kitchen of Jasmine is busy meeting the increasing demand but still maintaining the quality and soon the malay cakes and pineapple tarts will be hopping out of the ovens in the compound.

I'm seeing if I can manage two weeks in the row at home (which will be a record) and catch up on some much needed fasting. So far so good, although is really helps to be busy during the day so weekends are never the easist during Ramadhan. Of course, Hari Raya (Eid) here means more work, with plenty of people coming to visit but it's one of the highlights of the year and something we would never want to miss !

A monkey on our roof!

Iman woke me up this morning excitedly telling me there was a monkey on our roof. Sure enough when I went out I found this guy up there. We put an apple out to try and coax him to come down but he wasn't moving. But the kids were out with their pop pop crackers which I think put him off. I hope he's gone by now.

Our Fall Guy

Our poor Ayden's at an age where his little legs are going much faster than his little self can actually handle and as a result he has recently taken a lot of bumps. Yesterday he was travelling at high speed on his push car and toppled grazing his face. He was a little upset and for the rest of the afternoon pointed out to everyone the scene of his little accident. But the best thing is he's still running, jumping, climbing.....

Fasting - 15 days on

We are now halfway through Ramadan and my eating and drinking pattern has now become routine. I have my main meal at sungkai or break of fast (currently at 6:20) followed by my mug of tea. We then spend the first part of the evening tackling bedtime which we usually manage by 8:00. I then have some fruit, maybe yogurt, a big glass of cold milk and plenty of water. My final supper of herbal tea and porridge oats is at 10pm before going to bed. And I have one final glass of water at 4am before the fasting day starts at 4:45am. Only another fortnight to go!

Kids Hash - Run 350

Established in 1979, our kids hash is reputed to be the oldest in the world and this afternoon Iman, Jack and Hariz were proud to be there for the 350th run. We chose to go on the medium run estimated to take 30-40 mins. I hoped that it would be a "swift" 30 mins run but the hares did a fab job and gave us a proper medium run. The kids enjoyed it tremendously though Jack threw a wobbly in the middle and needed to be carried for a while. I was adventurous going in with the three on my own and at one point thought "never again" but I did get help from kind friends around us. Iman is a real hasher and was ahead most of the time. Jack is just finding his feet and Hariz did well for his second hash. It had been a very hot day today and fasting and hashing don't really go together so I was hugely relieved when we got to the last hill and climbed out!

The kids then enjoyed hot dogs, drinks and ice-creams. Next month's will be the Halloween Hash so they will all be in costume and we will also be introducing Ayden to his first hash! On on...!!

When in Borneo

Iman and Jack were invited to Toby and Oliver Harris' joint birthday party yesterday. One of the games that was a great hit was shooting a target with an Iban blowpipe. Great change from pinning the donkey's tail! 

Busy Day at School

Jack's day started with a swim and for the first time he confidently went into the pool without floats! His teacher said he was a star and was very excited about splashing on his own - the toddler pool at school is pretty shallow but our little guy took a pretty big step today. It was also cookery in Jack's class and they made "face" open sandwiches. 

Iman attended cookery club this afternoon which is her third ASA (after school activity) of the week - mondays is football and wednesdays gymnastics. Today in cookery they made scones and Iman was very proud of hers. 

Happy 8 Years

As Donncha mentioned in his last post, we are eight years married this week. Life can not be more different than it was 8 years ago. And with our three beautiful children it's just getting exciting. We have our good days and bad days, smiley days and sad days but we're thankful for all we have together. Happy Anniversary Big Ears!

Today also happens to be my Aunt's (Uso) birthday and dinner this evening was on her. As usual the cake was mobbed by the kids.

Heading back to Cork

This week is unusual in that I will spend the weekend away from home - I'm off to join some old friends to play golf in Cork (Kinsale to be exact). Even though Brunei is certainly home for me these days, there is always that Cork Boy lurking within and it comes to the fore when I get the chance to go back. Unfortunately, it means that I will be away for two weeks as I will be in London this week and Bangkok next so I will miss Maria and the kids but it's a once a year thing.
Of course, for those that know us well, it's also our wedding anniversary on Wednesday (technically we were married today on the 8th but that's a long story) so we spend another wedding anniversary apart (at least this year, Maria and the kids are at home and not in Cork with my parents while I play golf!).

For those who are wondering what Cork is like ..........

First Sunday in September

All around the globe today, Irish will be tuning in over the internet, on long wave radio or if they are lucky on TV to watch the greatest of all Irish spectacles - the All Ireland Hurling Final. My home county has always been very successful and I've grown up experiencing the ups and downs of the All Ireland - the early morning wake up, the long journey to Dublin (nothing compared to what I do these days) and the excitement of Croke Park. I cried at my first All Ireland when Cork were beaten (by Kilkenny) but I've also cried with joy at other times, none more so than when Cork won the double (Hurling and Football).

This year, it's the turn of Kilkenny (again and they may break a record for the most All Irelands, passing Cork !) and Waterford (it's been over 40 years since they've made it to a final). I'm listening over the internet from Bangkok airport enroute to London. For those who are interested, I've included probably the best goal ever scored on the hurling field - John Fenton in Thurles (for Cork of course) and I'm happy to report I was there that day - how we were taught to play hurling, first time and on the ground.

Mini Gingerbread Men

Jack's class topic last week was the Gingerbread Man and it culminated with them making gingerbread men on the friday. As I walked in to pick up our star (though he cried for the first that morning!) I looked at the big golden gingerbread men the other kids were holding and in my fasting mode I thought how great it would be to sink my teeth into one of those now and I eagerly waited for Jack's giant cookie. 

Alas out little Jack went for the smallest of cookie cutters available and came out with these mini men instead. And how can you not be proud that?

And on the topic of gingerbread men, I thought I would put in this picture of a little Zahra with her own masterpiece four years ago.

Dubliners fans in Brunei

A few weeks ago when Ronnie Drew of The Dubliners passed away, Donncha made it into a Dubliners day. We listened to the Dubliners all day in the car and much to our surprise the kids loved it. Ayden was in the back clapping away, Jack shouting "..more...more" in betwen songs and Iman "again...again..." asking for songs to be repeated. We now have one Dubliners CD in the car and this afternoon Iman made me play "Whiskey in the Jar" at least 6 times and when we got home we listened to more - she's a true Irish rouser! Cousin Fatin came in at some stage raising her eyebrows to the music and Iman said "This is Irish music and you know what else...my Grandad knows all the Irish songs!".

For those of you out there who know nothing of the Dubliners, I have attached Iman's favorite song. Enjoy!

Happy Fasting

The holy month of Ramadan is here again. I will so miss my cup of tea in the mornings. Hopefully I will make the full month as I did last year. For me the key to a successful and healthy month is oatmeal - oh yes yummy porridge. As I write this I am still trying to psyche myself up to have a big bowl of it before going to bed!